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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard to appropriate balance.
This report was prepared under EPA Contract EPA X825492-01-0 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Risk assessment of radon in drinking water / Committee on Risk Assessment of Exposure to Radon in Drinking Water, Board on Radiation Effects Research, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-06292-6 (casebound).
1. Drinking water—Contamination—United States. 2. Radon—Health aspects. 3. Indoor air pollution—Health aspects—United States. 4. Radon mitigation. 5. Health risk assessment—United States. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Risk Assessment of Exposure to Radon in Drinking Water.
RA592.A1 R57 1999 99-6134
615.9'02—dc21
Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water is available for sale from the
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COMMITTEE ON RISK ASSESSMENT OF EXPOSURE TO RADON IN DRINKING WATER
JOHN DOULL (Chair),
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
THOMAS B. BORAK,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
JAMES E. CLEAVER,
Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA
KEITH F. ECKERMAN,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN
LINDA C.S. GUNDERSEN,
US Geological Survey, Reston, VA
NAOMI H. HARLEY,
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY
CHARLES T. HESS,
University of Maine, Orono, ME
PHILIP K. HOPKE,
Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
NANCY E. KINNER,
University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
KENNETH J. KOPECKY,
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
THOMAS E. McKONE,
University of California, Berkeley, CA
RICHARD G. SEXTRO,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA
CLS ADVISER
JONATHAN M. SAMET,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
STEVEN L. SIMON, Study Director,
Board on Radiation Effects Research
KAREN M. BRYANT, Project Assistant
DORIS E. TAYLOR, Staff Assistant
NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Editor
SPONSOR'S PROJECT OFFICER
NANCY CHIU,
US Environmental Protection Agency
BOARD ON RADIATION EFFECTS RESEARCH
JOHN B. LITTLE (Chair),
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
R.J. MICHAEL FRY,
Oak Ridge, TN*
VALERIE BERAL,
University of Oxford, United Kingdom
EDWARD R. EPP,
Harvard University, Boston, MA†
HELEN B. EVANS,
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH†
MERRIL EISENBUD,
Chapel Hill, NC (deceased August 1997)
MAURICE S. FOX,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA§
PHILIP C. HANAWALT,
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA (member until 6/30/98)||
LYNN W. JELINSKI,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
WILLIAM F. MORGAN,
University of California, San Francisco†
WILLIAM J. SCHULL,
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX
DANIEL O. STRAM,
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
SUSAN W. WALLACE,
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
H. RODNEY WITHERS,
UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
EVAN B. DOUPLE, Director,
Board on Radiation Effects Research
RICK JOSTES, Senior Program Officer
STEVEN L. SIMON, Senior Program Officer
CATHERINE S. BERKLEY, Administrative Associate
KAREN BRYANT, Project Assistant
PEGGY JOHNSON, Project Assistant
DORIS E. TAYLOR, Staff Assistant
COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES
THOMAS D. POLLARD (Chair),
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
FREDERICK R. ANDERSON,
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Washington, DC
JOHN C. BAILAR, III,
University of Chicago, IL
PAUL BERG,
Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA
JOANNA BURGER,
Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
SHARON L. DUNWOODY,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
JOHN L. EMMERSON,
Indianapolis, IN
NEAL L. FIRST,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
URSULA W. GOODENOUGH,
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
HENRY W. HEIKKINEN,
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO
HANS J. KENDE,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
CYNTHIA J. KENYON,
University of California, San Francisco, CA
DAVID M. LIVINGSTON,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
THOMAS E. LOVEJOY,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
DONALD R. MATTISON,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
JOSEPH E. MURRAY,
Wellesley Hills, MA
EDWARD E. PENHOET,
Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, CA
MALCOLM C. PIKE,
Norris/USC Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA
JONATHAN M. SAMET,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
CHARLES F. STEVENS,
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
JOHN L. VANDEBERG,
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, San Antonio, TX
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
PAUL GILMAN, Executive Director
ALVIN G. LAZEN, Associate Executive Director
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is the president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Preface
At the request of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to a congressional mandate (amendment to bill S. 1316 to amend title XIV of the Public Health Service Act commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act), the National Research Council has appointed a multidisciplinary committee to conduct a study and report on the health risks associated with exposure to radon in drinking water. The committee was also asked to prepare an assessment of the health-risk reduction associated with various mitigation measures to reduce radon in indoor air; to accomplish this task, the committee used the results of the latest scientific studies of risk assessment and relevant peer-reviewed research carried out by organizations and individual investigators. Finally, the committee was asked to summarize the agreements and differences between the various advisory organizations on the issues relevant to the health risks posed by radon in drinking water and radon-mitigation measures and to evaluate the technical and scientific bases of any differences that exist.
The Committee on Risk Assessment of Radon in Drinking Water was appointed in May 1997, held its first meeting on July 14–15, 1997, and held six additional meetings during the next 9 months. The ability of the committee to comply with this extremely tight schedule is a reflection of the dedication and expertise of the committee members and the efforts of the committee staff.
The committee acknowledges the help of those individuals or organizations who gave presentations during our meetings and/or provided information in response to requests by committee members or staff and to others who helped the committee in the completion of our task.
Gustav Akerbloom, Swedish Radiation Protection Institute
Hannu Arvela, Finnish Radiation/Nuclear Safety Authority
Timothy Barry, Environmental Protection Agency
David S. Chase, New Hampshire Radiologic Health Bureau
Gail Charnley, Presidential/Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management
Nancy Chiu, Environmental Protection Agency
Jack Correia, Massachusetts General Hospital
Bill Diamond, Environmental Protection Agency
Joe Drago, Kennedy Jenks, San Francisco, CA
Susumo Ito, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
Dan Krewski, Environmental Health Centre, Ottawa, Canada
Jay Lubin, National Cancer Institute
J.P. Malley, Jr., University of New Hampshire
Sylvia Malm, Environmental Protection Agency
Frank Marcinowski, Environmental Protection Agency
Lars Mjones, Swedish Radiation Protection Institute
Roger McClellan, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
Neal S. Nelson, Environmental Protection Agency
David Paris, Waterworks, Manchester, NH
Dan Pederson, American Water Works Association
Frederick Pontius, American Water Works Association
Jerome Puskin, Environmental Protection Agency
Edith Robbins, New York University
David Rowson, Environmental Protection Agency
Richard Toohey, Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education
George Sachs, VA Medical Center, Los Angeles
Anita Schmidt, Environmental Protection Agency
Daniel J. Steck, St. John's University
Grant Stemmerman, University of Cincinnati
Neil Weinstein, Rutgers University
Jeanette Wiltse, Environmental Protection Agency
This report has been reviewed by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the authors and the National Research Council in making their published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
Antone Brooks, Washington State University, Tri-Cities
Bernard Cohen, University of Pittsburgh
Douglas Crawford-Brown, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Robert E. Forster, The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Sharon Friedman, Lehigh University
Patricia L. Gardner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Roger O. McClellan, Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
Gilbert Omenn, University of Washington
Frank H. Stillinger, Bell Laboratories
Rhodes Trussell, Montgomery Watson, Inc.
The committee members would like to express their gratitude to the staff of the National Research Council's Board on Radiation Effects Research. The committee members are especially appreciative for study director Steven Simon's technical guidance and encouragement. They are also grateful to Karen Bryant and Doris Taylor for assistance with administrative details related to the committee's work.
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